Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1887-03-14
The Drift-WOOd Race.

bOnet River divides. One arm creepS
over its winding bed as if loath to
leave the island it encircles; the 9th
er rushes down a rocky channel, and
shortly gains the bay. The former
a branch, in Clearharbor parlance, is
the Thoroughfare, the latter, the Mar
rows. One day in March both Mar
rows and ThOroughfare were full of
cakes of ice, pushing and crowding
and piling one over the other. The
| ice, which during the winter months
closed the river to navigation for
| eighteen miles above, was going out
earlier than usual. Generally, as
the days grew warmer, thin sheets
| f1oated by unnoticed, but when the
swelling waters broke their still bonds
asunder the sight was grand. The
bridge across the Thoroughfare
was thronged with spectators leaning
over the rail and watching the blocks
of ice crunch and grind against the
wooden piers. More timid ones look
ed on from the river bank, remember
ing that the last time the embargo
had gone out SO suddenly the bridge
had been carried away.
''It's alwers best to be cautious"
soliloquized Deacon Hastings, nod
ding approvingly from the back win
dow of his grocery toward the knot
| of observers stationed below. Thence
the deacOn's eyes wandered along the
strip of beach at the foot of the EN-
| bankment, where the poor of the
town were gathering the drift-wood
which the waters had stranded. Eyi-
IDENTIFY the object of his search was
not there, for with a shake of the
head he returned to the circle of vii
lage wiseacres congregated around
his small rusty stove. If time had
not dimmed the keenness of the dea-
cons eve a glance across the half
mile of water would have shown him
his son, Rast, on the point of land
which jutted out from the island at
the diversion of the river. As the
sun took a peep from under the gray
clouds before slipping behind the
hills. it painted the floating ice with
ruby and emerald tints, and for a
moment the boys collected around
the heaps of drift-wood on the shore
seemed clad in glittering armour, and
in the place of the wooden pick-holes
bore gold-tipped spears.
~ abide by the decision of the
crowd, of course" Rast Hastings
said, curtly ''If l am beaten, that's
the end of it,
"Waal, Hasty," drawled Simon
Gott, thrusting his hands deep into
his trousers pockets, "Pm ALFRED
sorry to 60 agin yer, but seems t me
Chal has hauled in little the biggest
pile"
'But RaSt gave granny Big
"Hold your tongue, Ragbag! that
was my concern, wasn't it?'' inter
rupted Rast, not unkindly. And
Ragbag, thus repulsed, climbed back
to his lookout on a slippery rock to
watch until the eddy brought some
treasure near the shore.
"We can't exactly decide" declar-
ed Ned Crocker with an air of impair
tiality. "Here's ChaPs wood in
single pile, while yours, Rast, is all
over the lot. If the next ten min
utes don't make more difference, let's
call it even. Eh, fellows?"
"'That's fair enough" assented
VIII Ransom.
"Agree, Chal?' Rast asked, care
lesslY.
Challis Grey nodded. He stood a
little apart from the rest, waiting
with seeming indifference for their
decision-a quiet-looking lad, an
inch or two below the height of
are-shouldered Rast, although his
slight figure gave him the appearance
of being the taller of the two. Fast
ened about his waist by a long rope
was a stick set with an iron brad,
which he used with considerable skill
in harpooning pieces of wood as they
foated by.
While classed as one of 'sthe boys
Challis did not assimilate with the
rest, who generally put him into the
third person. and occasionally left
him out of their good times altogeth-
er. Challis felt all this keenly, and
became more grave and taciturn as
the desire for popularity among his
mates ncreased-longed for so ar
IDENTIFY, it may be, because it appear
ed out of his reach. Rast, on the
other hand, was general fayorite
in Clearharbor.
ssOh, Rast, Rastr' cried Ragbag,
falling from his perch in his excite
ment, "there's log as big's tree
comm down-river! Oh, Rast, you
get it Won't you, Rast :''
1.-The one NV yer that gifts thet
spile BEATS said Slime. s'Winter-
port wharf must "a broke down, and
we'd best g over t'other side fore the
next jam kerries away the bridge
The current will take the log out too |
far for your pick, Rast. You'd bet
ter let Chal harpoon it. Twill be a
pity to lose it entirely, you know"
'sIt's Rast's. | saw it first, and |
I'm a going to give it to Rast." clam |
ored little Ragbag, jealousy.
"More'n one way to kill a cat